Nov 17 | Originally hired as co-executive producer to help with the second half of the show's first season, Kevin Murphy has now taken the reins of Caprica, the Battlestar Galactica prequel on Syfy, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He now serves as an executive producer along with Ronald D. Moore, David Eick and Jane Espenson and oversees the day-to-day functions of the show.
Nov 12 | Star Trek star Zachary Quinto is loosely attached to star in the romantic dramedy Whirligig, reports Risky Business.Quinto would play the lead role in the independent Canadian film, which is aiming to shoot early next year. The movie centers on a man who, in a misguided attempt to woo an older woman, befriends the woman's adopted son.Chaz Thorne is directing the pic, based on a screenplay by Michael Amo, creator of the Canadian supernatural series "The Listener."
Nov 11 | The CNS Foundation, is hosting an on-line charity auction at www.charitybuzz.com. One of the items they are auctioning is a signed movie poster of the new Star Trek movie which has all the cast members and writers. The president of our organization is Carol Abrams, JJ's mother, and she arranged for the donation from Bad Robot Production Company. J.J. Abrams is also a major donor to their organization. The funds raised will go to help find a cure to neurological disorders in children. The auction link is here.
Nov 10 | Candice Bergen, Charles Lisanby, Don Pardo, Gene Roddenberry, Tom and Dick Smothers and Bob Stewart have been selected as the next inductees into the Television Academy's Hall of Fame. They will be honored at a Jan. 20 ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hotel. "This year's inductees have challenged and shaped popular culture, changed television for the better and entertained us royally while doing so," TV Academy Chairman-CEO John Shaffner said. More info at the Hollywood Reporter
Nov 08 | Unreality-SF.net has interviewed Star Trerk author James Swallow about some of his upcoming projects. He talks about Titan: Synthesis and Seven Deadly Sins: The Slow Knife, as well as some forthcoming Doctor Who and Stargate stories.
As with the previous three seasons Paramount Home Entertainment has packaged the fourth season of STAR TREK: VOYAGER in one comprehensive season set, spread out over seven discs. Each episode is reproduced in full-frame format from its original broadcast presentation, and everything looks crisper than ever, from the title sequences to the visual effects. Each episode also has two sound options, English Dolby Digital 5.1 and English Dolby 2.0 Surround, with English subtitles and closed captions, which can be accessed through the Communications on-screen menu. As with the previous sets, it would be a benefit for Paramount to consider adding other subtitle options for the sake of its international fans.
Where the visual quality is concerned, I noticed no edge enhancement at all within the visual presentation of each episode and bonus feature. As STAR TREK has progressed and matured through the last 17 years, the visual quality of each episode has improved greatly, thanks to the continual developments of and improvements in video technology, DVD presentation and production. For a series on television within the last six to seven years, it becomes obvious looking at VOYAGER on DVD that the quality has definitely improved, both with all of the live-action shots and the ever-important CGI visual effects. Short of a high-definition DVD transfer, this latest set of VOYAGER on DVD looks and sounds really great!
Packaging and Menus:
Once again, Paramount has housed its VOYAGER DVDs in a seven-page plastic DVD booklet of clear color pages, along with a two-part plastic cover. As before, all you are left with are the case pages and a collection of nearly blank DVDs. With the exception of the STAR TREK: VOYAGER logo and a couple of disc ID's, it's hard to distinguish these discs from blank CDs or DVD-R's. The only other episode information is featured on the back cover in a concise listing, with episode titles, production numbers, episode airdates, and mission star dates. They could have at least designed their discs with picture artwork and illustrations to make the discs a bit more colorful. And there is no insert booklet included either. At the very least, they're consistent with previous sets.
The menu screen selection follows in a similar pattern as with the previous releases; only this time the Borg cube is featured as the prominent vessel on display. The initial start-up menu of each screen features a Borg vessel appearing on screen in four different angles, each one representing a particular episode section on the DVD, and the graphics itself within the menus look like they could have come right out of a Starfleet vessel. Selecting one of the individual menu quadrants will take you to a closer view of that particular angle of the Borg vessel, where you can select from playing the episode, sound options, the episode's chapter log, and returning to the main menu. While the CGI animation of the Borg vessel "" and for that matter, the other ships seen in the menus of the other VOYAGER DVD sets "" is on par with the CGI animation used in the series, it would be nice if the start-up menus weren't so brief. And to think some people complained about the extreme length of the start-up menus on the recent first season set of the original STAR TREK. Still, these start-up menus could run just a wee bit longer, but not too long.
Chapter stops are appropriately placed throughout each episode, with 7-8 chapter stops per episode and most of them strategically placed in between acts. This is a good decision for the DVD authors, one that should continue with the remaining VOYAGER sets and all future STAR TREK DVD products. The only thing that would make this even more interesting is if they would follow suit with showing longer sampled clips from each particular individual chapter, rather than just a random individual scan taken from that episode. Many DVDs today feature longer clips sampled from the film or TV product, sampled as part of the chapter selection process. It would be nice for a STAR TREK product to see this carried over as well into the rest of its TV sets.
The Extras:
As with the previous two sets, the fourth season of VOYAGER on DVD also features a series of bonus features clocking in at approximately 90 minutes altogether. Let's take a look and see what the new DVD set features:
BRAVING THE UNKNOWN: SEASON FOUR takes viewers into a look behind the scenes at the many changes experienced in VOYAGER's fourth season, specifically with the arrival of Seven of Nine, the departure of Kes, and some of the season's most memorable moments on screen and some of the behind-the-scenes drama. The majority of the discussion, obviously, revolves around Seven's arrival, with many thoughts and observations from Jeri Ryan, Rick Berman, Jeri Taylor, Kate Mulgrew, Roxann Dawson, Brannon Braga, and David Livingston. Braga is quick to point out the addition of Seven as a "babe Borg" in order to provide a sexy character on the show without reverting the series to a BAYWATCH mindset. Berman discusses the difficulties not only in Seven's addition but also in Kes' departure from the series. Both Berman and Mulgrew express their sadness in seeing Jennifer Lien leave the series, and Mulgrew also comments on the difficulties of filming Lien's segments for her last regular episode. Braga talks about the adventure and fun in writing the two-part "Scorpion", and he and Livingston also reveal the interesting aspects about the two-part "Killing Game". Dawson also comments on the difficulties of working in her real-life pregnancy into the episode while at the same time hiding her pregnancy from B'Elanna Torres' character during the fourth season. Robert Picardo talks about the fun he had in working with guest star Andy Dick in the episode "Message in a Bottle", playing off each other a la the Crane brothers in FRASIER. A good start to what would become a pivotal season for the series. Running time: 21:07.
TIME CAPSULE: SEVEN OF NINE spotlights the evolution of Jeri Ryan's character during the final four seasons of the series, as she talks in great detail about what she experienced in the series' production, calling STAR TREK "a moving freight train". A number of behind-the-scenes clips involving Ryan on the VOYAGER set, as well as promotional photo shoots and interviews with VOYAGER cast members, are also included. Ryan is very funny and insightful, a complete turnaround from her ultra-serious character of Seven, and she also goes into detail about the makeup and costuming process she underwent for her character. Running time: 13:44.
TIME CAPSULE: HARRY KIM looks in at Garrett Wang's character and his progression (or lack, thereof) during the seven-year run of VOYAGER. Wang is extremely insightful into what brought him onto STAR TREK, including how he went through two and a half months of casting sessions that eventually landed him the role of Harry Kim. In a combination of on-set interview clips and new interviews filmed for the DVDs, Wang talks about how he pushed for more take-charge action and more romance for Kim's character during the series. There's even some hilarious video footage of Wang participating in the STAR TREK Cruise Convention, one of Wang's more memorable outings. While the character of Harry Kim may have gotten the shaft at times during the series, Garrett Wang certainly matured, and his work shows. Running time: 14:09.
THE BIRTH OF SPECIES 8472 takes a look at the creation and development of a computer generated character for VOYAGER. Visual effects supervisor Dan Curry and CGI artist John Teska reveal the earliest designs for Species 8472, the trouble in creating an all-CGI creature, particularly a 'tripod" alien that could only be done in CGI. Curry and Teska turned to Lightwave 3D in modeling and designing the alien, and the end results shine forth. There's even some discussion of the complexity of having the various actors act -- or react -- around where the aliens of Species 8472 would be placed, as has been shown in raw footage from past VOYAGER sets. In a time where interacting with CGI-created beings is much more commonplace in film and television, STAR TREK: VOYAGER is no exception in dealing with such complexities. Running time: 9:35.
THE ART OF ALIEN WORLDS explores another interesting aspect of visual effects creation, and that's the world of matte paintings. Legendary matte painter Syd Dutton, who has contributed matte paintings to three of the STAR TREK feature films (NEMESIS, FIRST CONTACT, and THE FINAL FRONTIER) and an episode of TNG ("A Matter of Time"), as well as other films such as David Lynch's DUNE and THE KARATE KID PART II, to name a few, takes viewers on a look at how matte paintings are created for film and television, including his work for STAR TREK. Dutton, Dan Curry, and matte painter Rob Stromberg discuss the history and progress of matte paintings in not only STAR TREK but also in film and television in general. Through the combination of miniatures, live action, motion control, and matte paintings, everything is built layer upon layer to create a convincing set that otherwise wouldn't exist. This is a real treat for art and visual effects buffs, and this featurette certainly delivers. I wish there could have been more behind-the-scenes raw footage included. Running time: 10:42.
Also included is a photo gallery of 38 randomly selected photographs taken during production on the series' fourth season, as well as a preview trailer for TREKKIES 2 (1:53), also currently on DVD. There is also a small promotional flyer in the packaging for the BORG INVASION 4-D adventure at the STAR TREK Experience in Las Vegas, as with the previous third season DVD set.
But we're not done yet. Paramount has once again included a collection of documentary outtakes branded together as the DVD's hidden Easter eggs, entitled LOST TRANSMISSIONS FROM THE DELTA QUADRANT. These extra featurettes can be easily found within the confines of the Borg cube in the first three menus of Special Features section on Disc 7. The first one features Jeri Ryan talking about how she had to adjust to being seen as a STAR TREK celebrity (1:05). The second one, the longest of the Easter eggs, spotlights Tim Russ as he discusses his directorial debut with the episode "Living Witness" (3:23). The third bonus clip features Jeri Ryan discussing her warm welcome to the STAR TREK family (0:56). The fourth clip spotlights Ethan Phillips, as he discusses the complex combination of Talaxian and Klingon makeup for "The Killing Game" (1:26). The fifth Easter egg spotlights Brannon Braga talking about coming up with the various names for the Borg in STAR TREK (1:30), while the final Easter egg spotlights David Livingston's ideas for introducing the Hirogen in the five-episode arc during the fourth season (2:50). Both of the Jeri Ryan clips could have been easily combined with the TIME CAPSULE segment on Seven of Nine, while the Tim Russ segment could have easily been included in the BRAVING THE UNKNOWN featurette. Still, these Easter eggs are little bonus finds that are fun additions to the set.
As with past sets, Paramount Home Entertainment has also included a bonus disc of featurettes for those who purchase the set through Best Buy, Suncoast, or Sam Goody. The first featurette, RED ALERT: AMAZING VISUAL EFFECTS (10:58), covers some of the many special effects seen in the fourth season, including clips from "The Raven", "The Omega Directive", and "The Killing Game" and interviews with visual effects supervisors Ronald B. Moore and Dan Curry. The second featurette, VOYAGER RELEASE PARTY (5:16), takes viewers behind the scenes at the publicity party surrounding the release of the VOYAGER DVDs and includes interviews with Robert Picardo and other cast members, as well as NASA astronaut Janice Voss. A copy of this bonus disc was not available for review at press time, but it sounds like the wealth of information presented in the RED ALERT feature is such that it should have been part of the main set.
Final Thoughts:
A combination of an excellent DVD presentation of the episodes, solid audio and visual representation, and a nicely balanced mixture of extras, makes the fourth season of STAR TREK: VOYAGER a good addition to any STAR TREK DVD library. Short of a high-definition DVD set or a widescreen presentation on DVD, you can't go wrong, though the $129.99 SRP price tag is a bit on the steep side for collectors.
Quote: The seeds of the fourth season's progression and development were initially sown toward the end of the third season, as co-creators and executive producers Rick Berman and Jeri Taylor faced the prospect of losing 'Kes' and Jennifer Lien, who wanted to pursue other projects.
Well now I think just about everyone knows that Jennifer Lien was told that her character was being written out because "the character wasn't working" or so it has been widely reported, her departure of which sparked unanimous rancor about this decision amongst the other principles and within the fandom. ;-)
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"I think the show talked to people through the characters. They're stories that speak to the heart. They talk about love, they talk about friendship, they talk about loyalty, they talk about patriotism, exploration, curiosity, reaching out... And I think all those things still touch people. Even when you look at a 30-year old show, it still has something to say." - D.C. Fontana, Sci Fi Channel Special Edition TOS 1998
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"If the season finale involves the re-built USS Reliant coming back in time to the 21st Century crewed by Moogie, Dr. Selar, Morn, Transporter Chief Kyle, and the Salt Vampire, then we'll know that Coto has gone too far." - tomba1701
"She was fired because the producers wanted to bring in a new more glamourous character, and that meant one of the originals had to go.
There is a prevalent rumour that Lien was fired because she had been caught in possession of cocaine in her trailer. This, strictly speaking, is not true. In fact (thinks carefully for the sake of legal action) if some hypothetical actress might occassionally be imagined to partake of the occassional hypothetical drug even in the past and not necessarily while working on any given series, one could - purely as a thought exercise, of course - speculate that a hypothetical production company might use that to persuade said hypothetical actress to not make a fuss if they happened to be firing her. Allegedly. Speaking in purely hypothetical terms, and making no connection whatsoever to any real people or institutions...
Actually it was simply that Jeri Taylor wanted rid of her.[...]"
Quote: Actually it was simply that Jeri Taylor wanted rid of her.[...]"
Or so it is claimed that Taylor took "full (public) responsibility" for it. ;-)
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"I think the show talked to people through the characters. They're stories that speak to the heart. They talk about love, they talk about friendship, they talk about loyalty, they talk about patriotism, exploration, curiosity, reaching out... And I think all those things still touch people. Even when you look at a 30-year old show, it still has something to say." - D.C. Fontana, Sci Fi Channel Special Edition TOS 1998
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"If the season finale involves the re-built USS Reliant coming back in time to the 21st Century crewed by Moogie, Dr. Selar, Morn, Transporter Chief Kyle, and the Salt Vampire, then we'll know that Coto has gone too far." - tomba1701
someone in the message board said starting this season they were already in widescreen but from this review and other infos on amazon, etc. it ain't so.
in season5 it doesn't appear that way either but there aren't a lot of spex out on that so we shall see. anamorphic star trek tv? that'd be rocking. hopefully when enterprise comes out we'll see what that really means.
Quote: someone in the message board said starting this season they were already in widescreen but from this review and other infos on amazon, etc. it ain't so.
Actually shooting a show in widescreen doesn't mean it has to air that way. Apparently, this was done for a number of shows during the '90s just after the DVD format released and the DTV laws went into effect - ie., it allowed shows to begin experimenting and preparing for the eventuality. B5 was one that JMS advertised as having done this, however it was still broadcast in 4:3. There's a cool website here on how it is believed they did it for B5.
Quote:
in season5 it doesn't appear that way either but there aren't a lot of spex out on that so we shall see. anamorphic star trek tv? that'd be rocking. hopefully when enterprise comes out we'll see what that really means.
A bunch of us have been out looking for more info which Paramount and Warner Brothers - both of whom apparently did this, have been loathe to put out there. There was a mention in an earlier thread here.
Ie., the shows were shot in 16:9 but formatted for 4:3 when the scenes were framed, thus a cropping occurred for broadcast but the main focus of the action was not lost by doing so.
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"I think the show talked to people through the characters. They're stories that speak to the heart. They talk about love, they talk about friendship, they talk about loyalty, they talk about patriotism, exploration, curiosity, reaching out... And I think all those things still touch people. Even when you look at a 30-year old show, it still has something to say." - D.C. Fontana, Sci Fi Channel Special Edition TOS 1998
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"If the season finale involves the re-built USS Reliant coming back in time to the 21st Century crewed by Moogie, Dr. Selar, Morn, Transporter Chief Kyle, and the Salt Vampire, then we'll know that Coto has gone too far." - tomba1701
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